Car-coupling



(No Model.)

M. J. LORRAINE.

OAR COUPLING.

No. 391,416., Patented 090. 23, 1888" Fig.1 F1y.2

STATES aren't trie MADISON J. LORRAINE, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

CAR COUPLlNG.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 391,416, dated (Beholder 23, 1888. Application filed February 24, 1888. Serial No. 265,204. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MADIsoN J. LORRAINE, of the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Car-Couplings, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to that class of carcouplings in which the end of the draw-head is provided with a clutch or hook which is free to turn or swing laterally to a limited extent. In ordinary couplings of this class the clutch or hook is attached to the draw-head by means ofa bolt or pivot; and theprincipal object ofthe herein-described improvement is to so construct the coupling that this bolt or pivot can be dispensed with, as is hereinafter more fully described.

In the drawings herewith annexed, Figure l is a plan view of the upper side of the coup ling head or clutch. Fig. 2 is a plan View of the under side of the same. Fig. 3 is a section showing the inside of the lower half of the draw-head. Fig. 4 is a section of the upper halfof the same. Fig. 5isacross-section along line 00 3 of the previous figures, showing the coupling-head attached to the draw-head in the position it would occupy when closed. Fig. 6 is a bottom view of the cap used in this construction, and Fig. 7 is a crosssection of the same.

The accompanying drawings show the parts by which the automatic action of the head is obtained, and for which Letters Patent are being asked in an application filed January 21, 1888, and numbered, serially, 261,548.

It is not considered necessary to show the locking mechanism, as any desired automatic lock may be used.

Similar letters of reference denote identical parts.

A is the coupling head or clutch,which may be made of any desired shape, whether 3, S, or V in form, or as shown by the dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2. The coupling head or hook may be attached either at its center, its rearward end, or its forward end, ate, to the drawhead, as may be desired.

As far as the construction herewith claimed is concerned, the shape of the hook or the location of its attachment to the draw-head in no way interferes with its successful application.

D is the curved slide or slot in which the automatic action of the head depends, and D is the lug on which the slide D rides.

E is a boss or protuberance on the upper side of the hub of the coupling head. boss can be made plain, but is preferably constructed with the offset shown.

E is an upraise designed to receive the boss E and its attached cap.

E is a boss rising from the upper side of the lower finger of the draw-head.

E is a collar, circular in shape, and open toward the rearward end of the coupling-head.

E is a loose cap designed to fit on top of the boss E after it is in position in the draw-head.

F F F are holes designed to receive a pin to retain the coupling-head in a locked. position.

It represents the draw-head, and S S are a succession of recesses and teeth designed to interlock the coupling-head with the draw-head when the coupling-head is closed.

It will be noticed that a space exists between the bottom of the couplinghead and the lower finger of the draw-head. This is to allow sufficient room for the entrance of the couplinghead, and, in connection with an automatically-opening head, gives ample play for the head to rise and fall. With couplers not hav ing automatic heads the cap can be dispensed with, and a key passed through the lower boss or a springcollar be fitted around it to keep the head in a raised position.

As the draw-head is cast in one piece, it is important that a proper knowledge of the way of inserting the conpling-head in the drawhead be had. It is done in the following manner: First, the cap E is inserted in the ring E and upheld there, or the draw-head. placed in such position that the cap cannot fall. The couplinghead is then turned in the position it would have when open, and with the lower side of the hub resting on the lower finger of the draw-head. The couplinghead then be ing down, and taking up the vacant space heneath, (shown in Fig. 5,) gives sufficient clearance for the boss E to pass under the upper finger of the draw-head. The collar E being cut away in line with the entering movement, allows the head to be pushed into position until the boss 1? f ts properly in the collar. The

This

coupling head now being in position, the cap E is allowed to fall and will fit over the top of the boss E. The coupling head is now still down and cannot be withdrawn the way it entered, because the top of the cap E comes above the lower face of the upper finger of the draw-head, and it cannot be withdrawn in any other direction, because both the cap 13* and the collar E serve to retain it.

When the coupling-head is closed, by reason of the curved slide D riding up thelug D, the the coupling'head is raised into the position shown in Fig. 5. This raising movement of the head is particularly described in a patent granted Lorraine and Aubin, August 30, 1887, numbered 369,195, and in an application for reissue of the same.

When the coupling-head is closed, it cannot then be withdrawn, because it is interlocked with the draw-head at S S, Figs. 1 and 4E, and because the boss E serves to hold it against the collar formed by the recess E. Pins inserted in the holes F F F may also assist to retain it.

By the construction shown and claimed the coupling is simplified and much strengthened, as the openings for the pivot pins, which weaken the parts, are dispensed with.

\Vhat I claim is 1. In a car-coupling of the type described,

in which the draw-head is made or cast in one piece, the coupling head or hook A, attachable and secured to the draw-head R by the combination of bosses E and E the upraise E, and the collar E, and the means for keeping the coupling-head in a raised position, all substantially as described, for the purposes set forth.

2. A draw-head constructed as described, in combination with an automatically-opening coupling head or hook attached thereto by means of the bosses, collar, and upraised ring, and the auxiliary cap E all substantially as and for the purposes described.

3. The combination of a coupling-head constructed as described,with the draw-head constructed as described, and the cap E, or a collar to surioimd the lower boss, for thepurpose set forth.

4. In a car-coupling in which the draw'head is made in one piece and having an attached swinging coupling head, the combination of bosses and collars, substantially as described, for the purposes set forth.

MADISON J. LORRAINE.

Witnesses:

FRANK HOGGENJOS, CAL. O. GLAUSON. 

